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Harold M. Tanner

Professor

University of North Texas

Department of History

Email: htanner@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, Columbia University, 1994
    Major: East Asian Languages and Cultures
  • MPhil, Columbia University, 1990
    Major: East Asian Languages and Cultures
  • BA, Beijing Languages Institute, 1987
    Major: Modern Chinese
  • MA, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1985
    Major: Area Studies (China and Japan)
  • BA, New England College, 1983
    Major: International Politics

Professional Positions

  • Associate Professor, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2005 - 2010).
  • Associate Professor and Department Chair, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2001 - 2005).
  • Associate Professor, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2000 - 2001).
  • Assistant Professor, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (1994 - 2000).

    • Academic - Post-Secondary

  • Professor and Department Chair, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2016 - Present).
  • Professor, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2010 - 2016).

Professional Memberships

  • Chinese Military History Society. (2012 - Present).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • HIST 1060 - World History from the Sixteenth Century, 5 courses.
  • HIST 3550 - Imperial China, 1 course.
  • HIST 3560 - Modern China, 2 courses.
  • HIST 3570 - Japanese History, 4 courses.
  • HIST 4075 - The Korean and Vietnam Wars, 3 courses.
  • HIST 4260 - Topics in History, 1 course.
  • HIST 4263 - Topics in African, Asian, or Latin American History, 10 courses.
  • HIST 4550 - Imperial China, 10 courses.
  • HIST 4560 - Modern China, 13 courses.
  • HIST 4565 - Chinese Military History, 1750 Present, 3 courses.
  • HIST 4570 - Japanese History, 4 courses.
  • HIST 4575 - Military and Diplomatic History of the Cold War in East Asia, 1 course.
  • HIST 4900 - Special Problems, 5 courses.
  • HIST 4910 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • HIST 5130 - Studies in World History: Latin American or Asian, 9 courses.
  • HIST 5220 - Studies in United States Military/Diplomatic History, 1 course.
  • HIST 5565 - Military History of Modern China, 1 course.
  • HIST 5900 - Special Problems, 10 courses.
  • HIST 5950 - Master's Thesis, 5 courses.
  • HIST 6900 - Special Problems, 10 courses.
  • HIST 6940 - Individual Research, 4 courses.
  • HIST 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation, 12 courses.

Directed Student Learning

  • Doctoral Advisory Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Doctoral Advisory Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Doctoral Advisory Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, History. (2021).
  • Doctoral Advisory Committee Member, History. (2018).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "“Of Rice and Men: Nationalist Grain Transport Policies in Wartime China, 1937-1945.”," History. (2020 - 2023).
  • Dissertation Committee Chair, "Beyond the Nation-state, and Beyond the Sea as a Barrier: China’s Grand Strategies in South China Sea Region from the 1930s to the 1990s," History. (2017 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, History. (September 1, 2017 - 2020).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, "Chinese Strategic Culture: The Origin, Organization, Operationalization, and Evolution of People's War Doctrine," Political Science. (September 1, 2017 - March 9, 2018).

Awards and Honors

  • Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in American Education. (2007).
  • Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in American Education. (2006).
  • Who's Who Among American Teachers, Who's Who Among American Teachers. (2004).
  • Who's Who Among American Teachers, Who's Who Among American Teachers. (2003).
  • Developing Scholars Award, University of North Texas. (1999).
  • Junior Faculty Summer Research Fellowship, University of North Texas. (1998).
  • participation in the National Faculty Institute on "Incorporating Japanese Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum" at San Diego State University, Sasakawa Fellowship. (1995).
  • Doctoral research in Chinese criminal justice at the Universities Service Center, Hong Kong Chinese University, Fulbright Foundation. (1992).
  • Doctoral research in Chinese criminal law and criminal procedure at the Law Department, Beijing University, National Program for Advanced Study and Research in China. (1991).
  • Foreign Languages and Area Studies scholar in Chinese, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University. (1989).
  • Distinction, Ph.D. dissertation on "Crime and Punishment in China, 1979-1989" passed with Distinction by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University. (1989).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Book

  • Tanner, H.M. War in Modern China: A History. 334. London, Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/War-in-Modern-China-A-Military-History/Tanner/p/book/9781032469393
  • Single-author book. (2015). Where Chiang Kai-shek Lost China: The Liao-Shen Campaign, 1948. 384 pages. Bloomington, IN, Indiana University Press. http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=807588
  • Tanner, H.M. (2013). The Battle for Manchuria and the Fate of China: Siping, 1946.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2009). China: A History.
  • Tanner, H.M. (1999). Strike Hard: Anti-Crime Campaigns and Chinese Criminal Justice, 1979-1985 ..

    • Book Chapter

  • Tanner, H.M. (2010). "The People's Liberation Army and China's Internal Security Challenges" in Kamphausen, Lai and Scobell, eds., The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2009). "Railways in Communist Strategy and Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1948," in Bruce Elleman; Stephen Kotkin, eds. Manchurian Railways and the Opening of China: An International History.

    • Book Review

  • Tanner, H.M. (2008). Susan Trevaskes. Courts and Criminal Justice in Contemporary China, by (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007)..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2006). Michael Dutton. Policing Chinese Politics: A History. Durham: Duke University Press, 2005..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2005). Philip F. Williams and Yenna Wu. The Great Wall of Confinement: The Chinese Prison Camp Through Contemporary Fiction and Reportage. University of California Press, 2004..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2004). Gary J. Bjorge. Moving the Enemy: Operational Art in the Chinese PLA's Huai Hai Campaign. Leavenworth Paper No. 22. Ft. Leavenworth, Kans.: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2004..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2003). Chien-ming Chao and Bruce Dickson, ed., Remaking the Chinese State: Strategies, Society, and Security. New York: Routledge, 2001..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2003). Odd Arne Westad. Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946-1950. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2001). Jeffrey C. Kinkley. Chinese Justice, the Fiction: Law and Literature in Modern China. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2000..

    • Journal Article

  • Tanner, H.M. (2024). “American Understandings of Chinese Strategy: A First-Draft Genealogy of the Search for a Chinese Way of War.”. War Studies Journal. 1 (1) 63-100. Denton, TX, UNT Press.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2014). Learning Through Practice Lin Biao and the Transition to Conventional Combined Operations in China's Northeast, 1946-1948.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2012). Big Army Groups, Standardization, and Assaulting Fortified Positions: Chinese 'Ways of War' and the Transition from Guerrilla to Conventional Warfare in China's Northeast, 1945-1948.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2012). Chinese Civil War, 1945-1949 (peer-reviewed bibliographic article, published online:http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199791279/obo-9780199791279-0031.xml?rskey=7C7bzF&result=16&q=.
  • Tanner, H.M. (2007). "Law and Government in the Mao Years (1949-1976)".
  • Tanner, H.M. (2003). "Guerilla, Mobile, and Base Warfare in Communist Military Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1947." republished in Kenneth Swope, ed., Warfare in China Since 1600. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2005..
  • Tanner, H.M. (2003). Guerrilla, Mobile, and Base Warfare in Communist Military Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1947. The Journal of Military History. 67 (4) 1177-1222. Project MUSE. https://doi.org/10.1353/jmh.2003.0340
  • Tanner, H.M. (2000). "The Offense of Hooliganism and The Moral Dimension of China's Pursuit of Modernity, 1979-1996.".
  • Tanner, H.M. (1995). "Policing, Punishment, and the Individual: Criminal Justice in China.".
  • Tanner, H.M. (1995). "The Empirical Limitation of Theoretical Insight: Review Rejoinder,".
  • Tanner, H.M. (1994). "China's 'Gulag' Reconsidered: Labor Reform in the 1980s and 1990s.".
  • Tanner, H.M. (1994). "Chinese Rape Law in Comparative Perspective.".

Presentations Given

  • "Counter-Insurgency PLA-Style: Anti-Bandit Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1947", (2013 - 2013).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), Bringing the Military Back In: New Perspectives on China's Civil War, (2013 - 2013).
  • Learning through Practice: Lin Biao and the Transition to Conventional Combined Operations in China's Northeast, 1946-1948, (2013 - 2013).
  • "Learning Through Practice: Chinese Communist Forces in the Three Expeditions /Four Defenses Campaign, Winter 1946-47", (2012 - 2012).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), Chinese Ways of War: Beyond the Myths of Sunzi and Mao, (2012 - 2012).
  • Reduce Casualties, Win Battles: Lin Biao's Six Principles of Combat, (2012 - 2012).
  • "Manipulating the Enemy: Lin Biao and the Three Expeditions/Four Defenses Campaign, Winter 1946-47" Paper presented at the 2011 meeting of the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, October 1, 2011, (2011 - 2011).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), A Ten Year Retrospective on China's Military and Government, (2011 - 2011).
  • Big Army Groups, Standardization, and Assaulting Fortified Positions: Chinese "Ways of War" and the Transition from Guerrilla to Conventional War In China's Northeast, 1945-1948, (2011 - 2011).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), Commentary on the book entry "Invasion of China (1931, 1937–1945)" by Gary Bjorge, (2011 - 2011).
  • "Nobody Wins: Nationalists and Communists in the Liaoxi Corridor, November 1945", (2010 - 2010).
  • The Battle of Siping (1946), George Marshall, and the Myth of Chiang Kai-shek's "Last Chance in Manchuria, (2010 - 2010).
  • The Transition from Guerrilla Warfare to Standard Warfare in China's Northeast, 1945-1948, (2010 - 2010).
  • "Preparing to Determine the Fate of Manchuria: Communists, Nationalists and the Road to Siping, March-April 1946.", (2009 - 2009).
  • "The Retreating General: Lin Biao and the Communists on the run in Manchuria, November 1945-April 1946.", (2009 - 2009).
  • The PLA and China's Internal Security Challenges, (2009 - 2009).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "China: From Neolithic Cultures to the Yuan Dynasty: Historical Background for 'Five Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics.", (2008 - 2008).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "Key Issues, Strategies and Resources for Teaching China in the Twenty-first Century.", (2008 - 2008).
  • "Railroads and Communist Strategy in the Civil War in Manchuria: The Locomotive Mao Zedong and Military Supply Train Number 3005.", (2008 - 2008).
  • "Railways in Communist Strategy and Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1948.", (2008 - 2008).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "The United States, China, and Taiwan: the Historical Background of a Potential Conflict.", (2008 - 2008).
  • "Experiencing War From Afar: the Battle of Siping as Viewed from Yan'an, Nanjing, and Washington, D.C.", (2007 - 2007).
  • "Marshall, Jiang Jieshi, the 2nd Battle of Siping, and the 'Last Chance in Manchuria' Thesis", (2007 - 2007).
  • "The Battle of Siping (1946), George Marshall, and the Myth of Chiang Kai-shek's `Last Chance' in Manchuria", (2007 - 2007).
  • "Railways in Communist Strategy and Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1948: Some Preliminary Observations.", (2006 - 2006).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "The U.S.-China-Taiwan Triangle: Historical Perspectives on the Impending Sino-American War.", (2006 - 2006).
  • "Democratization, Modernization, and Policing: Lessons From China's Historical Experience.", (2005 - 2005).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "Qianlong as Military Leader: Image and Reality.", (2005 - 2005).
  • "The Liao-Shen Campaign: Historiographic Perspectives and Issues.", (2003 - 2003).
  • "Experiences and Suggestions for Future Improvements in Teacher Training Programs for World History and AP World History.", (2001 - 2001).
  • "Guerilla, Mobile and Base Warfare in Communist Operations in Manchuria, 1945-1947.", (2001 - 2001).
  • "Asia in World History.", (2000 - 2000).
  • "China, Japan, and the Formation of the Global Market, 1000-1750.", (2000 - 2000).
  • "Is Chinese Criminal Justice Unique? Comparative Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice in China, 1979-1996.", (2000 - 2000).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "The Worlds of the Chinese Scholar.", (2000 - 2000).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "Beyond 'Red Corner'—Historical Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice in Modern China.", (1999 - 1999).
  • "The Offense of Hooliganism and the Moral Dimension of China's Pursuit of Modernity, 1979-1996.", (1999 - 1999).
  • "Crime, Punishment and Modernization in China.", (1998 - 1998).
  • "Approaches to the Problem of Crime: Is there a 'Chinese Way?'", (1997 - 1997).
  • "The Chinese Revolution.", (1997 - 1997).
  • "From Resistance to Civil War: Communists and Nationalists in Manchuria, 1945-47.", (1996 - 1996).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Other), "The Yellow Peril and Other Myths in Chinese-American Foreign Relations.", (1996 - 1996).
  • "Criminal Justice and China's Transition to Modernity.", (1995 - 1995).

    • Invited Talk

  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Gyeonggi Research Institute’s DMZ Forum 2020, Facing Up to History in Korea: Truth, Reconciliation, and Responsibility, Gyeonggi Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Korea, South. (2020 - 2020).
  • Tanner, H. (Presenter), China Town Hall--University of Texas at San Antonio, People to People Engagement Construct Solid Foundations for Sino-US Relations, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, University of Texas at San Antonio, United States of America. (2018).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), U.S. Naval Reserve, U.S. Seventh Fleet Asia PAcific Symposium, Chinese Strategic Culture, U.S. Naval Reserve, U.S. Seventh Fleet, Fort Worth, TX, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Seventh Fleet Asia-Pacific Symposium, Cultural and Historical Contexts of China's Strategic Posture, Naval Reserve, U.S. Seventh Fleet, Ft. Worth, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Formica History Endowment Speaker Series, Like a Grindstone Dashed Against an Egg: Sunzi (Sun Tzu) and the Chinese Way of War, University of Arkansas, Department of History, Little Rock, United States of America. (2014).

    • Oral Presentation

  • Tanner, H.M. (Presenter), “Where Chiang Kai-shek Lost China: The Liao-Shen Campaign, 1948.”, Northeast Asian History Foundation, Seoul, Korea, South. (2017).

    • Other

  • Tanner, H.M. (Presenter), Willard E. Walker, Jr. '66 Visiting Scholar, St. Mark's School, Dallas, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).

    • Panel Presentation

  • Tanner, H.M. (Author), Chinese Military History Society, How to Start a Civil War: The Shangdang Campaign (September 10-October 12, 1945).”, Virtual Conference, United States of America. (2020 - 2020).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Panelist), Annual Meeting of The Society for Military History, Round-table commentary, The Society for Military History, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. (2019).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, “Chinese Counter-Insurgency Operations Against the Tibetan Uprising, 1955-1965.”, Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, San Antonio, United States of America. (2017).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Chinese Military History Society, PLA Counter-Insurgency Operations in Tibet: A Preliminary Look at Sources and Problems”, Chinese Military History Society, Jacksonville, United States of America. (2017).

    • Paper

  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Chinese Military History Society, “Defeating a Superior Enemy with an Inferior Force: Strategy, Operations and Tactics in Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping’s Shanxi-Henan-Shandong-Hebei Field Army, 1945-1947.”, Chinese Military History Society, San Diego, United States of America. (2023).
  • , H.M. (Author & Presenter), Chinese Strategy: Universal or Unique?, “A Case Study in Chinese Strategy: The Chinese Civil War, 1945-1950.”, Vanderbilt University and the U.S. Naval War College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States of America. (2023).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), annual conference of the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, “Defeating a Superior Enemy with an Inferior Force: Strategy, Operations and Tactics in Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping’s Shanxi-Henan-Shandong-Hebei Field Army, 1945-1946”, Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, Conway, AR, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).
  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), 23rd Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies, From Shangdang to the Dabieshan: Liu Bocheng and the Challenges of Military Professionalism in the Chinese Civil War, European Asociation for Chinese Studies, Leipzig (virtual conference), Germany. (2021).

    • Symposium

  • Tanner, H.M. (Author & Presenter), Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, 2017, "Loose Cannon or Status Quo Conservative? Donald Trump and American East Asia Policy, Jeju Peace Institute, Jeju Island, Korea, South. (2017).

Service

University Service

  • Chairperson, Department of History. (September 1, 2016 - July 31, 2019).
  • Committee Member, CLASS Executive Dean Search Committee. (August 15, 2018 - April 15, 2019).
  • Other (Coordinator), Division of Humanities. (September 1, 2015 - August 31, 2018).
  • Faculty Advisor, Interdisciplinary Minor in Asian Studies. (September 1, 1994 - August 31, 2018).
  • Committee Chair, Departmental Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. (2008 - 2009).
  • Other (Department Chair), Department of History. (2001 - 2005).
  • Committee Member, Faculty Council of the College of Arts and Sciences. (2000 - 2003).
  • Committee Member, Department Affairs Committee. (2000 - 2002).
  • Committee Member, African American Search Committee. (2000 - 2001).
  • Other (Undergraduate Co-Advisor), (1999 - 2001).
  • Committee Member, Undergraduate Committee. (1999 - 2001).
  • Committee Member, Graduate Committee. (1998 - 1999).
  • Other (Secretary for Departmental meetings), Department of History. (1995 - 1998).
  • Committee Member, ad-hoc Map Committee. (1997 - 1997).
  • Committee Member, ad hoc Committee. (1995 - 1995).
  • Committee Member, Library Committee. (1994 - 1995).

Public Service

  • Guest Speaker, Allen Public Library. Allen, Texas. (January 9, 2018 - January 9, 2018).
  • Other (Talk delivered at teacher in-service), Garland Independent School District. (2001 - 2001).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Journal Article, American Journal of Chinese Studies. (2018 - Present).
  • Other (Member of editorial board for book series "China: From Revolution to Reform"), Amsterdam University Press. Amsterdam, (November 15, 2017 - Present).
  • Committee Member, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. New York City, New York. (January 1, 2015 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Chinese Military History. (2014 - Present).
  • Officer, Other Officer (Representative to the Association for Asian Studies Council of Conferences), Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (October 31, 2017 - September 30, 2020).
  • Committee Member, Board of Directors of the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (1999 - 2018).
  • Reviewer, Grant Proposal, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (December 3, 2018 - December 5, 2018).
  • Officer, President/Elect/Past, Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (November 1, 2015 - October 31, 2016).
  • Officer, Vice President, Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (November 1, 2013 - October 31, 2014).
  • Other (Secretary-Treasurer), Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (October 15, 1999 - October 31, 2013).
  • Other (Director and lead instructor), Faculty Development Institute on East Asia. (2001 - 2009).
  • Other (Instructor and Co-Designer), AP World History Summer Institute. (2001 - 2002).
  • Other (Instructor and Co-Designer), AP World History Summer Institute. (2000 - 2000).
  • Committee Member, Board of Directors of the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. (1998 - 1999).